GLOBAL LEADERSHIP IN THE 21st CENTURY

CEO of the World Academy of Art and Science, President of the World Consortium of Universities, and full member of the Club of Rome

Harry Jacobs / aspeninstitutekyiv.org

An analytical study published on March 17, 2019, as part of a project by WAAS, the UN ⓘ, and the Nizami Ganjavi International Center (published in an abridged version).

The optimistic consensus that underpinned global progress after the end of the Cold War no longer exists. The world is in need of new global leadership. Its source lies not so much in great individuals as in a living social process that unites society around an inspiring idea. A value-based vision of the future unleashes powerful social energies and resources. Therefore, the process of leadership extends beyond the actions of one or several individuals.

#1 CONTEXT

After the 2008 financial crisis, the global economy has not fully recovered. There has emerged a threat of abandoning the principles of democracy and the free market; protectionism and populism have risen, along with growing corruption, unemployment, and economic inequality. EU countries, faced with the consequences of uncontrolled migration and other challenges, have lost a shared vision.

The progress achieved after the fall of the «Iron Curtain» in the areas of disarmament, global governance, the creation of a world market, and the resolution of environmental issues has been called into question. Humanity recognizes that these problems cannot be effectively addressed by individual national governments, yet it insufficiently realizes its collective potential. Traditional forms of leadership limit the transition from competitive nationalism to a humanism grounded in the values of global society.

At the same time, there is ample evidence of a determination to move forward. For example, the adoption by 190 UN member states of the «2030 Development Goals». Or the support for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in 2017, which was approved by 122 countries at the UN General Assembly. And in 2018, at climate negotiations, 195 UN member states adopted a rulebook for implementing the Paris Climate Agreement.

#2 THE NEED FOR GLOBAL LEADERSHIP

Leadership is necessary to inform people about the potential that can be harnessed to shape a collective vision based on shared values, inspiring ideas, and individual initiative. The generation of an inclusive social movement must challenge outdated theories and narrow national and sectoral interests, and develop integrated strategies and policies capable of mobilizing the energy of global society.

The motto of the World Academy of Art and Science is leadership in thought leading to action. In 2013, WAAS, in partnership with the UN, held its first international conference dedicated to a new development paradigm and the principles outlined in the «2030 Development Goals». Since then, WAAS has organized more than 30 conferences around the world aimed at developing effective strategies at both national and global levels.

#3 HISTORICAL PRECEDENTS

Leadership is always exercised within a social context, the understanding of which is crucial for a leader. In 1933, U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt faced a massive banking crisis. Depositors, in panic, were withdrawing their savings en masse. Roosevelt realized that the problem was psychological rather than financial. In a radio address, he promised to protect people’s savings, persuaded them not to be afraid and not to withdraw their deposits. Roosevelt succeeded because he resonated with the hopes and values of Americans.

The seeds of perestroika and glasnost initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev, were sown long before his reforms. When Gorbachev was a student, the truth told by Khrushchev about Stalin’s crimes shocked him, as it did many representatives of the idealistic youth.

Sometimes it is difficult to trace the roots of great events, because they go far back into the past. It may seem that the reunification of Germany in 1991 happened suddenly. In 1989, Gorbachev and Chancellor Kohl believed it would take several decades. However, the forces driving Germany toward reunification had been at work since the 9th century, within the Holy Roman Empire.

The League of Nations may be considered a failed project, and Woodrow Wilson an unsuccessful leader. But in fact, the League was not a failure, but rather an experimental attempt at international governance. Humanity had to pass through the horrors of World War II for the UN, as the successor to the League of Nations, to be able to implement its ideas and groundwork two decades later.

#4 SOCIAL READINESS

Great leaders are both a product and a catalyst of social processes. Their success depends on society’s readiness to respond to them. The genius of Steve Jobs lay not in his inventiveness (initially, this role at Apple was played by the brilliant engineer Steve Wozniak), but in his ability to sense society’s demand and align his actions with it. The release of the Macintosh in 1984 was proclaimed an act of spiritual revolution.

Jobs himself, even more than his products, became an icon of a generation that valued personal freedom and creative individuality above all else. With the advent of the internet, Jobs saw the possibility of making the personal computer part of a global system. This vision led to the creation of the iPod and the transformation of the music industry, gave rise to the iPhone and iPad, and made Apple the most valuable company in world history.

#5 IDEAS AS SEEDS

The managerial initiatives of Roosevelt, Churchill, and Gorbachev were largely conceptual. They perceived the problems they faced differently from others and succeeded in conveying this new perception to people.

History glorifies Abraham Lincoln for abolishing slavery in America. But the right to freedom had been fought for in Europe for centuries before it was enshrined in the Declaration of Independence. At the core of Lincoln’s leadership lies the impulse of a global social movement.

Freedom has been a fundamental and universal value for millennia, even before the exodus of the ancient Jews from Egyptian slavery. Churchill did not hold referendums or consult Parliament; he was guided by a deep sense of what the people expected from their leader.

#6 ORGANIZATION

A leader cannot succeed without organization. In the 1960s, Congress leader C. Subramaniam declared plans to eliminate the threat of hunger in India once and for all. His strategy was based on an understanding of farmers’ psychology. Within 10 years, grain production in India doubled, and by the early 1970s, the country was already exporting surpluses. India’s IT revolution of the 1980s was driven largely by the private sector rather than the government. Over time, IT education grew into a mass movement. As a result, from $10 million in 1985, information technology exports increased 10,000-fold and exceeded $100 billion.

Sometimes, a global movement can be initiated by a small group. The report «The Limits to Growth», prepared by intellectuals of the Club of Rome in 1972, was published in 30 languages and sold more than 30 million copies. It launched the global environmental movement. The microcredit initiative of Muhammad Yunus’s Grameen Bank in rural Bangladesh led to the rapid spread of microfinance institutions worldwide.

#7 SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

Leadership is not only a person but also a process. An act of leadership can occur only when the ideas, values, and goals of a leader inspire others, gain strength through organization, and are embodied in a mass movement. In 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, a bus driver told Rosa Parks that Black passengers had to sit at the back to give seats at the front to white passengers, but she refused. Thus began the civil rights movement, which led to the abolition of racial discrimination in America.

#8 TOKEN INITIATIVES

Symbolic initiatives can lead to global changes in the real world. The history of leadership shows that even in an unfavorable context, a leadership initiative can prove effective: Nixon’s trip to China, which radically changed relations between the two countries; Gandhi’s Salt March; the Boston Tea Party; Roosevelt’s fireside chats; the sit-in at Sproul Hall; Martin Luther’s theses, which opened the era of the Reformation…

#9 THE LEADERSHIP PROCESS

Leadership as personality and leadership as process are inseparable. It is a holistic phenomenon that emerges at many levels. Intellectual leadership generates new philosophical ideas, scientific discoveries, and technological innovations. Social leadership gives rise to new organizations, systems, and social innovations. Spiritual leadership generates values. Thanks to physical leadership, the New World was discovered in the process of seeking a route to India.

#10 WHO IS A LEADER?

Leaders share many common characteristics, even when their values are opposed. In the book Good to Great, Jim Collins analyzed the traits of leaders of the most successful corporations in the United States and identified a common feature — a combination of humility and professional will. Contrary to stereotypes, these leaders were not charismatic egoists. Rather, they were patient, modest individuals striving not for personal gain, but for the long-term well-being of the organization.

Leaders take responsibility not only for their own actions, but also for what others say and do. A high level of energy is characteristic of all great leaders. Napoleon, Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, Churchill, Gandhi, Nehru, Mao, Steve Jobs, and Thomas Watson possessed an almost inexhaustible supply of energy.

Its source lies in their ability to identify themselves with those they lead. Political leaders create emotional connections and expand their circle of followers through the exchange of emotional energy. They transform their personal point of view into the shared vision, values, and goals of the organizations they lead. Mental leaders are those who can envision a future entirely different from the past and present. Without this vision, they cannot inspire others, unleash the energy of the masses, or create effective organizations.

#11 THE GLOBAL LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE

In a context where international institutions play an increasingly important role, new thinking and leadership initiatives are required at all levels. Global leadership in the 21st century demands efforts to develop fundamentally new concepts and strategies. The effectiveness of governing international institutions largely depends on the level of awareness and determination of those who lead them.

#12 LEADERSHIP FOR THE SDGs (SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS)

In the absence of strong leaders, a shared vision can become a powerful means of guiding collective behavior. The 17 Development Goals are a unique example of global leadership that can be achieved through transformative ideas, inspiring people, and progressive institutions. However, the Development Goals provide only a general direction. For each of them, strategies must be formulated and implementation plans developed at the level of individual communities, organizations, nations, and the world as a whole. They must be coordinated and aligned so that success in some areas does not undermine progress in others. Rethinking the role of institutions promises significant benefits for the world, but resistance to it will also be considerable. We cannot simply wait for a revolutionary breakthrough. Our course is to support those changes that are already taking place within the existing system and can become a motivating symbol for the global community.

#13 THE NEED FOR TRANSFORMATIVE IDEAS, A NEW THEORY, AND MODELS

Leadership initiatives will not yield rapid results if our thinking and actions remain constrained by a set of outdated ideas, concepts, and theories. Today, battles are taking place in the social sciences that resemble the intensity of religious wars of the past. Under the guise of social science, vested interests and struggles for political, social, and economic power are often concealed. Most models are designed for governance at the national level. They do not take into account the competitive, cumulative, and compensatory consequences of the actions of other countries.

Karl Popper warned against excessive naturalism in the social sciences». In striving for objectivity, the social sciences emphasize material factors and measurable parameters. However, it is well known that great leaders and social movements are largely the result of subjective factors. The isolation and fragmentation of scientific disciplines have divided an indivisible reality. In particular, such an intellectual divide is now evident between technological and social sciences. This leads to an illusory separation of responsibility for the consequences of our actions.

#14 EDUCATION FOR LEADERSHIP

Intellectual leadership is necessary to shift the focus from the nation-state to humanity as a whole. This will require a new approach to education and the creation of a global educational system of a fundamentally new level and content. The current system is aimed at preparing people to survive and follow rules in the external world. It does not develop a person’s desire or ability to consciously change the world for the better. Leaders are catalysts of social progress. Therefore, the power of individuals who possess the determination to achieve their goals must not be underestimated.

#15 THE INTERCONNECTION OF CRITICAL ISSUES IN THE 21st CENTURY

Today, the world lacks clarity about how humanity’s new capabilities will shape its future. The Development Goals represent a clear leadership task for the coming decade. Yet they themselves are an expression of deeper problems, often perceived as a set of conflicting and mutually exclusive goals, corporate interests, and social forces in such areas as:

ecology and the economy;
technology, employment, and social protection;
multiculturalism and national identity;
national sovereignty and global governance;
competitive national security and global collective security;
intergenerational conflict and the democratization of power.

The task of leadership in the 21st century is to integrate these polarities into a coherent whole. This will require a fundamental transformation of values, perceptions, theoretical understanding, organizational principles, multicultural relations, public policy, and action.

#16 LINES OF SOCIAL EVOLUTION

The knowledge necessary for shaping global leadership can be gained by studying the main lines of social evolution:

from small, autonomous, culturally homogeneous communities to larger, diverse, multicultural states that give rise to an interdependent global community;
from military power to economic power, from physical strength to the power of science and technology;
from the rights of elites to universal human rights;
from viewing people as a resource for manual labor to recognizing their unlimited capacity to increase productivity, innovation, and creativity;
from the development of natural resources to the development of social capital;
from an emphasis on physical security and the creation of material goods to human rights to freedom, equality, and happiness.

The task of a leader is to create strategies, organizations, and social movements in accordance with these evolutionary lines.

#17 QUESTIONS THAT REMAIN UNANSWERED

Our task is to ask difficult questions that others prefer to ignore. They largely fall into two groups: those related to knowledge and those focused on action. Many of them remain unanswered. They contain the keys and the seeds of humanity’s future evolution. They cannot be effectively resolved through simplistic compromises. These questions require a shift in values and perspectives. The answers to these questions are a necessary condition for leadership thinking that underpins leadership action.